Author Archives: Norma Hanson

Strip Stacks – Progress

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2015_April 13_Strip Stacks_In Process-Optimized

I am finally getting back to my southwest-themed Strip Stacks quilt.  I have been busy quilting tops for others on my long arm so my own projects have been languishing.

I started piecing this quilt on January 24, 2015 at our guild retreat.  I thought I might make this lap sized but after reaching that size I still had lots of batik strips left, so I continued making blocks.  I am hopeful that this will grow to fit our bed–somewhere around 91″ x 97″.

I have just four more blocks to make and then I can finish joining the columns together and call it a finished flimsy!

Creative Stitches Show – March 27 and 28, 2015

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The Modern Quilt Guild that I belong to was thrilled to have space to exhibit our quilts in this year’s Creative Stitches Show on March 27 and 28, 2015. IMG_1982 This is me beside my quilt entry–Tumbling Gum Drops. IMG_1978 This is my good friend PJ standing next to her table runner. IMG_1985 PJ’s daughter is also a guild member.  This is CH next to one of her entries. IMG_1976 This is CH next to her large quilt entry.  CH is very talented–she made that great red dress as well! IMG_1989 This is the mother and daughter team posing in front of the guild quilt. IMG_1974 Our Guild’s banner. IMG_1973 Our Guild’s booth.IMG_1977 Our guild members’ quilts were featured just inside the entrance to the show. IMG_1979 Robert Kaufman Mini Challenge quilts.IMG_1980 More challenge quilts.IMG_1984…and more… IMG_1986…and more… IMG_1987 …and the last of the mini challenge quilts.IMG_1990There was an opportunity to also include some other modern quilts if members wished to have their quilts displayed. IMG_1991 IMG_1992 IMG_1995 IMG_1996 IMG_1999We may not have had that many quilts displayed, but what was displayed was a great example of the variety of quilts that can fit inside the Modern Quilt category.

 

Gwen Marston Workshop – Day 3 – March 9, 2015

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On day 3 of the Gwen Marston workshop we headed out of the city to the cutest farm house and long arm studio in the country.

We stood around Gwen at the table while she brought out more of her quilts.  We enjoyed listening to Gwen talk about the techniques she used as she made each quilt–everything from  why she used the colour of thread she did for the handquilting, how she applied the single fold binding, the type of batting she used, etc.  We could have listened to her share forever I am sure.

Photo by poppyprintcreates.blogspot.ca

Photo by poppyprintcreates.blogspot.ca

These are photos of Gwen’s quilts.DSC_1319-Optimized DSC_1324-Optimized

DSC_1325-Optimized DSC_1328-Optimized This one reminded Gwen of butter.  “And who doesn’t like butter,” she said.  🙂DSC_1329-OptimizedDSC_1331-OptimizedDSC_1326-Optimized

This is Gwen and I at the end of the day posing with my two creations.  Gwen helped pick out the colour of the binding–red–by auditioning a narrow strip next to my work.  Both pieces ended up suiting that red for binding and so they shall be bound in red after quilting.  Red was not a colour I would have thought of on my own, but I love the look!DSC_1334

Tumbling Gum Drops

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Tumbling Gum Drops - 36" square

Tumbling Gum Drops – 36″ square

I just finished sewing the last stitches in the binding of this small wall quilt.

This quilt measures 36″ square and is my entry into my Modern Quilt Guild’s Robert Kaufman Modern It Up Challenge.  See my previous post here for the rules.

Part of the challenge was to take a traditional block and make it modern.  The traditional block that inspired my quilt was the Tumbler block.  In a traditional quilt, the Tumbler quilt blocks are arranged side by side, neatly in rows with no space or sashing between the blocks.  To make the Tumbler quilt block modern, I used the Missouri Star Quilt Company’s Tipsy Tumbler quilt pattern to add negative space between the blocks and arrange them in a random way across the quilt.

My tumblers remind me of a package of gum drops that has been opened and tipped to gain access to the contents so I have called my quilt, Tumbling Gum Drops.

My quilt is now officially entered into the Challenge.  Keep your fingers crossed that my quilt will be successfully juried into the Creative Stitches Show at the end of March where our Modern Guild will have an information booth.  If chosen by the Jury, my quilt will also be part of an exhibit of modern quilts that will be displayed in a quilt show to be held in Penticton from May 8 – 9.

Gyleen’s Bricks, Cobblestones, and Pebbles – Finished Flimsy

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SCRAP CHAOS - 58 1/2 inches square

SCRAP CHAOS – 58 1/2 inches square

Last night, I finished (to the flimsy stage) my mystery quilt from the Facebook page, Gyleen’s Bricks, Cobblestones, and Pebbles.  Gyleen was calling this project, Odds, Ends, & Leftovers.  My quilt top measures approximately 58.5 inches square.

General instructions provided by Gyleen included:  “Don’t cut from scraps too far in advance.  Most of what you need should be already cut.”

I was able to assemble most of this mystery from squares and strips that I had previously cut and organized into bins in my sewing room.  As you can see from the stacks of bins on the shelves, I could make many more Odds, Ends, & Leftovers projects  without running out of scraps.  🙂

2015_February 22_Scrap Strips and Squares Storage-Optimized

 

If I was to repeat this pattern again, I would disregard Gyleen’s directions relating to the random in placement of the squares and I would pay more attention to the values and placement of the fabrics.  To me, the randomness of this project results in a look that looses the design elements of the quilt in the messiness/chaos that results from the random placement of the fabric squares.  In my opinion, the people that disregarded the random directions and put their quilt together in a more organized scrappy fashion have much nicer quilts.  However, this project was fun and well worth trying.  After all, I never had to purchase any fabric.  In fact, as I worked through the clues in the mystery, I enjoyed walking down Memory Lane as I worked through my fabrics.  Each scrap of fabric took me back to the project that it was left from over the years so I had fun reminiscing as I put together this quilt top.